Flyers Send McGinn to Adirondack; Activate Hartnell

The Flyers have activated left winger Scott Hartnell, who is set to play against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

To make room for Hartnell on the roster and in the lineup, the Flyers have loaned left winger Tye McGinn back to the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL. McGinn has a team-high three goals in four games, but his ice time drastically diminished his last two games.

McGinn logged 16:48 and 19:22 in his first two games, scoring three total goals. But he then logged only 11:42 against the Penguins last Thursday and 10:15 against the Rangers yesterday where he didn't register a single point.

McGinn's decline in production could be attributed to his decrease in ice time, or his decrease in ice time could have played a part in his decreased production. Either way, the Flyers felt it was the former and decided to send him back to Adirondack where he can get valuable playing time rather than being demoted to the fourth line.

McGinn was never really a top-6 forward, and instead filling a role that Hartnell played on the top line. McGinn does have third and fourth-line value, but the Flyers want him to continue to develop playing 20 minutes a night as opposed to the 8-12 minutes he would likely play if he was demoted to the bottom six.

McGinn was called up to the Flyers on October 12 when Vincent Lecavalier and Hartnell went down with injuries. Lecavalier returned to the lineup yesterday and Hartnell is set to return tomorrow.

McGinn wasn't the only prospect called up. Michael Raffl made his NHL debut, and despite not having a single point yet in four games, as played very well and has gotten a number of scoring chances.

Raffl was promoted to the top line in the win yesterday, playing with Lecavalier and Claude Giroux. Raffl looked really good out on the ice, and will stay with the top line for tomorrow's game. Hartnell will be on the second line with Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek.

Raffl's first NHL point is going to come soon, and he's going to get it while playing with two of the Flyers' best forwards.